Sometimes Alcohol Is A Good Thing
by LavanderSkye
Summary: Flint drags Volkner to a party, so she goes to the kitchen looking for alcohol, only to meet a mysterious man dressed in blue. Note: I did a little gender bender thing so Volkner is now a girl. VolknerxRiley. Please review since this is one of my first stories!
1. Chapter 1

It was nearly mid afternoon when Sunyshore's gym leader, Volkner, walked into the gym. The gym's receptionist, Clyde, looked at Volkner in shock, "Volkner!" he declared, "What are you doing coming in so late. You know the gym opens at eleven!"

"Relax Clyde," replied Volkner, her face remaining in the usual poker face she always had, "It's not like any of the challengers could actually win against me. Do you have any idea how many gym badges I've given out this past week?" She paused, waiting for him to respond. "None. So if you'll excuse me I have to get going." she responded sharply.

Volkner walked the backway to the room where she was usually stationed. Normally she would've walked through the gym, admiring all the recent renovations she had made, but recently one of the Ace Trainers she had hired had started to take quite a liking to her and she didn't feel like dealing with him today. She walked up some rickety metal stairs that lead to a large metal door that lead to her room. The room just consisted of a large throne that was surrounded by generators that spit out electric currents. There was also a mini fridge next to the throne. Volkner made a beeline to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine, which she grabbed, sat down in her throne, and started to drink.

Meanwhile, back at the front of the gym, Clyde was sitting behind his desk reading a magazine when a young man with a flaming red afro barged through the door, "Hey Clyde, is Volkner here?" the man asked.

"She's in the back room," replied Clyde casually, not looking up from his magazine.

The man walked through the gym to Volkner's room. He opened the door to see Volkner drinking from a liquor bottle and reading a book, "You know," said the man, "Drinking isn't a very good influence on the ten year olds that come in here to battle.

Volkner looked up from her book, "Shut up Flint," she replied, a smile appearing on her usually grim face. Flint walked up to her and took the bottle from her hand, "Hey give that back!" Volkner commanded.

Flint opened the mini fridge and put the bottle back in, "You really need to quit drinking so much," he said, "Besides, are you going to Candice's party tonight?"

"I don't know, who's all going?"

"Me, you, other people..."

"Is Byron going?" asked Volkner, "Cause if he is then I'm not."

"Seriously, you're still getting over that?!" cried Flint.

"Trust me, I'm not, but every time we see each other he wants to hook up, and I'm sorry, but he does NOT satisfy me." said Volkner.

Flint laughed and looked at his watch, "Come on," he said, "If we leave right now, we can make the next train to Snowpoint."


	2. Chapter 2

Volkner and Flint walked the backway out of the gym and headed towards the train station. "Hey Volk, you know what I was thinking?" asked Flint.

"That if you cut your hair it'll give you better chances of getting laid?" asked Volkner jokingly, resulting in a punch in the shoulder from Flint.

"No you bitch," replied Flint, "But just for that I'm keeping the fro just for you."

"So what were you thinking then?" asked Volkner as they arrived at the train station.

"I'll tell you in a second," said Flint. He put his hands in his pockets, frantically searching for something, "Damnit!" he declared, "I left my wallet at home. Volk do you mind paying for my ticket?"

"Whatever," said Volkner, "But you owe me." She walked up to the ticket station, "Two tickets to Snowpoint," she said. The ticket teller, who was a skinny guy with long shaggy black hair, just looked at her, "Hey, do you mind?" she asked sternly, crossing her arms. Flint, who was watching from afar and could here Volkner's complaint, just smiled to himself. He loved his best friend, but she could be such a bitch, especially to people she didn't really know, and considering she she didn't really go out too much, she didn't know many people, but she, on the other hand, was well known in Sunyshore, especially with the recent power outages she has caused lately due to her gym renovations.

Back at the ticket station, the teller's face was bright red at Volkner's remark, "I...I...I'm sorry," he managed to stutter as he fumbled for the tickets, "but you, your Volkner right?"

"Yeah I am," replied Volkner snarkly. The teller's eyed widened as he handed her the tickets, "and quit fucking staring." she said, snatching the tickets from him and walking to Flint.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," said Flint.

"Did you fucking see him staring?! It was like I was a fucking Shiny Dialga or some shit!"

"And people wonder why you're still single,"

"Shut the hell up, I could say the same for you, Afro Puff." said Volkner. She sighed, "Anyways, what were you thinking earlier?"

"Okay, you know how the big gym leader's gala is coming up and how we usually go alone and get wasted in the back?" asked Flint.

"Yeah we do that every year."

"Well," began Flint, "I was thinking that we should both bring dates this year, and you know, maybe not get completely shit-faced."

Volkner looked at Flint in denial, "Seriously? You think that, with my bitchy attitude and your lack of commitment, we can both find dates to this thing?"

"Wanna bet on it?" challenged Flint.

"Yeah I do," said Volkner, "If you can't find a date, you have to shave your hair."

"I'm fine with that," said Flint, "But if you can't find a date, you have to stop drinking for 2 months."

Volkner sighed, "Fine," she muttered, holding out her hand for Flint, who gladly shook it, "But for your information, I'm still getting shit-faced, whether you like it on not."


	3. Chapter 3

Flint and Volkner boarded the train and sat down. Flint immediately pulled out his phone and started texting Candice, letting her know that he had managed to get Volkner out of her lair, while Volkner watched as the rest of the passengers boarded the train. There weren't many- an elderly man, a young mother and her son, two guys wearing jackets and carrying ski gear, and what looked like a security guard or some sort of cop.

As the train started to move Volkner watched out the window at the passing scenery. As she watched the passing-by scenery, her train of thought drifted off to the bet she and Flint had made. _Fuck what the hell did I get myself in to?_ she thought. She never really had a problem attracting guys, they normally were attracted to her like moths to a flame, (which was annoying as hell in her opinion). The problem was, they usually didn't stick around once they got past her looks and realized that she wasn't just a pretty face. The only serious relationship she had was with Byron, the Steel-type gym leader of Canalive City because he was pretty much as snarky and strong-headed as she was, but once she realized that if they got too serious, she might become Roark's stepmom, who was the Rock-type gym leader in Oreburgh City and also Byron's son, so she called it quits since her and Roark were good friends and it would ruin their friendship.

Flint, on the other hand, was looking around the train at all the passengers when he looked behind him to see a mother and her little boy sitting behind them. The boy was looking at the back of Volkner's head. Thank god she doesn't see him, thought Flint. He turned back around, but a few minutes Volkner suddenly turned around to face the little boy.

The boy looked at her in utter amazement, "You're Volkner!" he said excitedly. He tugged on him mother's sleeve, "Mom, mom look! It's Volkner!"

"Calm down Garret, you're probably embarrassing the poor girl!" commanded his mother. She looked at Volkner, "I'm so sorry about that." the mother said.

Volkner just smiled, which surprised Flint considering Volkner always says how much she hates kids and wants to strangle every kid that walks through her gym. "It's not a big deal." said Volkner.

The mother smiled and glanced at her son, who was still looking at Volkner in amazement, "It is to him, he's a really huge fan of yours. Every time we go for walks, we always have to walk by the gym and he always says 'Mom, one day I wanna be a tough gym leader, just like Volkner!'"

Volkner looked at the little boy, "Do you happen to have a pen on you?" she asked him.

"Yeah I do!" replied the boy excitedly, a huge grin appearing on his face as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. Volkner took the pen and pulled out one of her gym badges and signed it for the little boy, "Here you go," she said as she handed him the badge. Suddenly the train jolted to a stop.

"We have arrived at Snowpoint City," announced someone over the intercom, "Everyone carefully exit the train."


	4. Chapter 4

Volkner and Flint exited the train, only to be greated by a harsh gust of wind, "God damn it's cold!" declared Flint, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. He certainly didn't dress for the cold weather, with only a mustard yellow polo shirt and black jeans for protection. Volkner, on the other hand, was wearing a jacket, but even she was freezing!

"You know," said Volkner as they walked to Candice's house, "You would think that, considering you live with Fire-type Pokémon and you're a Fire-type gym leader, you would be like immune to the cold or something."

"Eh, I'm sorta immune, but we usually don't have this type of weather in Sunyshore." said Flint, "I think I've only seen it snow there maybe twice."

"You have a point there." said Volkner as they walked up to Candice's house. Flint knocked on the door to be greeted by Candice. Candice wasn't Volkner's favorite person in the world, she was way too perky and tended to talk her ear off, but she usually threw pretty good parties.

"Hey guys!" Candice said over the loud music coming from her living room, "So glad you could make it! Everyone's already here so just come on in and make yourself at home." She lead them into her house, where they were immediately engulfed by loud music. There weren't a lot of people Volkner was familiar with, but she could see Roark, Gardenia, and Crasher Wake amongst the large crowd. Byron was leaning against a wall, looking grimly at everything. He made eye contact with Volkner and immediately looked away, his steely glare softening slightly.

"Great! C'mon Volkner, lets dance!" said Flint. He spotted an attractive girl and immediately made a beeline for her.

Volkner smiled to herself, "C'mon Volkner!" shouted Flint through the crowd. She just smiled and shook her head, "Nah I'm good," she replied, "I'm gonna get something to drink.


	5. Chapter 5

**Before you start reading I want to say something. I know the gender bender thing is weird but I've tried writing gay fanfiction a few times before and it just didn't work out the way I wanted it to so this is what you get. I'm also currently planning on writing another fanfic that's VolknerxRoark and I'm going do the gender bender thing in that too. If you don't like my stories that's fine, don't read them then.**

** Sorry for this little thing, I'm feeling ranty today, and please review or send me a PM I really wanna know what you think of my story. **

**Now onwards with the fanfic!**

* * *

Riley was one of Candice's best friends, but when Candice begged him to come to her party he politely declined, which resulted in Candice knocking on the door to his home on Iron Island. The only reason he even came was because she said she had found a girl for him. Normally that wouldn't have gotten him to come, considering Candice has often hooked him up with one of her annoying friends, but she said this girl was nothing like her friends, so he decided to give her a shot.

He was hanging around in Candice's kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and attempting to ignore all the partying going on (he wasn't a huge people person; yet another reason he didn't want to come) when a tall woman with long, straight, blonde hair walked into the kitchen. She walked straight to Candice's cupboards, not noticing Riley, and started rummaging through them. Riley inspected the girl some more. She was wearing a blue jacket over a black v-neck, skinny jeans with a silver chain hanging from one of the loops, and black combat boots.

Volkner was rummaging through Candice's cupboards for some sort of alcohol when she finally found an unopened bottle of vodka, which she took out and started drinking. "So that's what you were looking for!" she heard a voice say. She spit out her drink and looked over to see a guy with blue hair drinking a cup of coffee.

"Holy fuck how long have you been standing there?!" asked Volkner in shock.

"Long enough," replied the man nonchalantly. He held out his hand, "I'm Riley, and you are?"

Volkner stared at Riley's hand hesitantly for a few seconds before shaking it, "Volkner." she replied before continuing to drink from the bottle of vodka, while Riley resorted back to his cup of coffee. I wonder if this is the girl Candice wants me to hook up with? he thought to himself. He'd talked to a few girls at the party already, but all of them were almost exactly like every other girl Candice had set him up with so he figured that none of them were his 'perfect match' as Candice said.

Volkner was about a quarter done with the bottle before she glanced at Riley, "Want some?" she offered, holding out the bottle.

"Nah I'm good." he replied.

"What, are you some sort of anti-alcohol type?" she asked.

"No, I just have a long journey back home that's all."

"Ah," replied Volkner, taking a sip of vodka.

"So why aren't you out there partying with everyone else?" asked Riley.

"I'm not really what you would call a 'people person' and parties aren't really my thing" replied Volkner, taking yet another sip of vodka, "Anyways, I could ask the same for you."

"Not a huge party fan either."

Volkner let out a small burp and set the bottle down on the counter. Riley glanced and noticed she drank about half the bottle, "Are you sure drinking that much is healthy?" he asked, pointing to the bottle.

"Don't know, don't care."


	6. Chapter 6

Back in Candice's living room , the party was still raging on. Flint looked around the room for Volkner and didn't see her anywhere. He shrugged and turned back to the pretty red head he'd been talking to. Her name, well Flint couldn't remember that, but she was pretty and wasn't the brightest, which was good enough for him. He didn't know where Volkner was, but he was sure she was fine. Probably off drinking or some shit.

Riley was refilling his coffee mug and telling Volkner about Iron Island, where he lived, when they were interrupted by Candice, who walked in carrying a few boxes of pizza, "So I see you've met Volkner." she said to Riley.  
"Yeah," said Riley. Volkner just smiled politely and pulled out a slice of pizza from the box.  
"Why aren't you two out there with everyone else?" Candice asked.

"Partying isn't really my thing," said Volkner.

"Same here." said Riley.

Candice looked at Volkner and Riley with a strange look on her face, "Well there's food in the fridge and-" she looked at the half drank bottle of vodka next to Volkner, "I see you've already found the drinks Volkner."

Volkner smiled and took a huge swig of vodka as Candice left the kitchen. Riley took a bite into his pizza. Olives- his favorite! Volkner looked at Riley's pizza slice in disgust, "How can you eat that?" she asked.

"Like this," Riley said, taking a huge bite of pizza and chewed it obnoxiously before swallowing. They ate in silence for a minute, listening to all the commotion going on the the room next door.

"So Volkner, what do you do for a living?" Riley asked as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Cause black-outs. Renovate the Gym. Annoy the hell out of Flint." said Volkner matter-of-factly, causing a laugh from Riley.

"You're a gym leader?"

"Yeah, I'm the eighth gym leader of Sinnoh."

Riley thought back to an article he once read about a challenger that finally beat the eighth gym leader, who hadn't been beaten in almost a year. I can't believe THAT'S Volkner! Riley thought.

They continued just talking like that for a few hours. They got so caught up in the conversation, they both forgot about the party going on in the other room. Volkner just felt so relaxed the entire time. Maybe it was just being away from all the stress and frustration?

Volkner was just telling Riley about a funny accident that happened during her renovations resulting in burning one of the Rocker's eyebrows off when she was interrupted by a Flint, "Hey guys, hate to break up the conversation but we gotta get going if we wanna make the train." he said.

She looked at her phone to check the time, which was 1:30 am. Holy fuck! she thought. She had gotten so caught up in talking to Riley that she completely forgot about the party! She started to rush out of the door, saying goodbye to everyone, but as she stepped outside someone grabbed her shoulder. It was Riley, "Hey do you have like a phone or something that I can keep in contact?" he asked.

"Oh, uh yeah I do." said Volkner, "Do you?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling out a black iPhone. She took it and rapidly typed something down before giving it back.

"I put my number in there so if you wanna like talk or anything just call." said Volkner before running down the steps into the cold winter air after Flint.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been 2 weeks since Riley had spoken to Volkner, and she had started to think he'd forgotten all about her. Volkner never really worried about guys not calling her, she was usually the one doing the ignoring, but since he only had her number there was no way of contacting him, as much as she wanted to. Volkner wasn't typically one of those girls who waited for a guy to call her, she was usually a pretty independent person. There was just something about Riley that made her...feel more alive she guessed. She wasn't sure if it was his laugh or his personality or what but it was something.

She looked out her window to see it was pouring buckets outside. "Great, just fucking great!" she moaned, covering her head with a pillow. Today was just one of those days where she just didn't want to get out of bed, so she called up Clyde and told him that she wouldn't be opening the gym today.

0

Riley had been staring at his phone for about five minutes straight, mustering up the courage to call Volkner. He didn't have much experience with girls so he didn't really know if he should call her or text her or what. He did search her name on Google though, which resulted in numerous articles about her efforts as a gym leader and the blackouts she had caused due to the renovation she had told him about.

Suddenly Riley's phone rang. He looked, hoping it was Volkner although he knew that was unlikely since she didn't have his number so he was disappointed to see that it was Candice. "Hey Candice," he said.

"Hey," said Candice, "So have you called Volkner yet?" Candice told Riley after the party that is was Volkner that she wanted him with and she was thrilled that Volkner gave him her number, so every day Candice called asking if he had called her yet.

"No not yet." replied Riley.

"Goddammit Riley! When are you going to?!"

"I don't know."

Candice sighed, "Okay here's what you are going to do. You are going to hop on that Salamence of yours, fly his little ass to Sunyshore, knock on Volkner's door, and ask her to dinner you understand?"

"Bu-"

"No buts, go. NOW."

0

Volkner eventually got out of bed and went to go take a shower. After her shower she momentarily debated blow drying her hair but decided to let it air dry instead. She got dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, released her Luxray from his Pokéball, grabbed a bag of Doritos even though it was only 11:00, and plopped on her couch, her Luxray curled up besides her.

She was sitting on her couch watching reruns of Private Practice when she heard a knock on her door, "Ugh," she moaned as she got off the couch to see who was knocking. Probably Flint, she thought, but as she peered through the peephole, she shocked to see that it was Riley, who was completely soaked and waiting patiently at her door, "Holy fuck how long have you been out there?!" asked Volkner as she opened the door.

"Not long," he reassured, but he had really been standing there for about 5 minutes trying to muster up the courage to knock on the door. Surprisingly Volkner didn't ask how the hell he found her house or why he was here, she just lead him in her house.

"Go sit down," she commanded, pointing to her black leather couch, "I'm gonna go see if I have some of Flint's clothes laying around."

Riley looked around as Volkner walked down the hall to her bedroom and returned a few minutes later carrying some clothes, "Here you go," she said handing him the clothes, "and if you want you can go take a shower, the bathrooms right down the hall.

"Yeah that'd be nice." said Riley, sniffling his nose. He seemed to have come down with a cold recently, and it probably didn't help that he was outside in the rain without any sort of protection, which also wasn't smart considering the clothes he happened to be wearing that day were pretty damn expensive. He walked in the bathroom and undressed, but as he looked at the shower handles, he realized he had no fucking idea how to work Volkner's shower. Well fuck, thought Riley as he wrapped a towel around his lower half, "Hey Volkner?" he said as he peered out of the bathroom.

"You can't work the shower can you?" she asked as she got up off her couch. She noticed the towel wrapped around Riley's waist and smiled as she walked in, her face turning a slight pink. She told Riley how to work the shower and then rushed out of there leaving Riley to his shower. He took off his towel, showered, neatly folded his wet clothes, and inspected the clothes Volkner gave him. A hoodie and sweatpants? Not what he usually wore, but he didn't mind. He pulled on the boxers and sweats and pulled the hoodie on and walked back out to the hall.


	8. Chapter 8

Riley walked out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen, where Volkner was pouring herself a cup of coffee, "Want some?" she offered.

"Sure."

Volkner poured Riley a cup of coffee. Riley sneezed hard and sniffled, "Are you sick?" asked Volkner, "I thought you said you weren't out there very long?"

"I'm fine!" said Riley as he let out another sneeze.

"You don't sound fine," said Volkner, handing him a cup of coffee, "I have some cold medicine here somewhere, go sit on the couch."

Riley walked out and sat on the couch beside Luxray, who was sleeping soundly. With nothing to do, Riley started observing the place a little more closely. The walls were a nice white and the carpet was a faint lime green. There was a few pictures on the walls- one of her and her Luxray, one of some beach scene, and one of her and Flint. There were also a few pictures on a wine rack in the corner of the living room but Riley couldn't see them very well. The house wasn't a dump, but it wasn't clean either. Clothes, papers, tools, and other various objects were scattered around the floor or carelessly tossed aside. A box of cigarettes lay on the coffee table, as well as a lighter and an ash tray. Riley really hoped Volkner didn't smoke in the house as the scent really bothered him, but from the scent of her house she didn't. There was a huge TV in front of the huge wrap-around couch, but it wasn't on and Riley didn't watch much TV anyways, so it didn't really matter.

Riley smiled. He expected Volkner's house to be all dark and gloomy, but it was surprisingly cozy, "What are you so smiley about?" Volkner asked as she plopped down beside him with her own cup of coffee and a bottle of cough medicine, which she handed to Riley. Riley was startled by her question. He'd been too busy thinking to notice Volkner approaching.

"Nothing," Riley said, taking a swig of the medicine, "So what were you doing home today? You weren't sick or anything?"

"Nah don't worry," said Volkner, "Today was just one of those days where I didn't feel like leaving the house."

"Ah," said Riley as he took another swig of medicine.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, "So do you want some food?" asked Volkner.

"Sure," said Riley. Volkner handed him a bag of Doritos that was next to her, "I'm gonna run to McDonalds, what do you want?"

"Oh, um I don't really go to McDonalds." said Riley politely. He actually never really ate fast food, but judging by the pizza boxes sitting on her counter, Volkner did.

"Do you live in a cave or something?!" asked Volkner. She sighed, "Do you like chicken nuggets?"

"Yeah I guess so."

"Good, I'll be right back." Volkner grabbed a set of keys hanging by her door, put on a pair of slippers, and walked out the door.

Riley immediately pulled out his phone to call Candice, who answered on the second ring, "Hey did you take my advice?" she asked.

"Yeah I did."

Candice squealed over the phone, making Riley's eardrums ring, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! How'd it go?!"

"Not exactly the way I planned..."

"What do you mean?!"

"Well, my plan was to knock on her door and ask her out to dinner, but it was raining and I waited out there for like five minutes, so now I'm wearing Flint's clothes and sitting on her couch while she's getting chicken nuggets from McDonalds."

"Oh Riley..." Riley could practically here Candice facepalm herself. Suddenly he heard the sound of a car pulling up.

"Ok Volkner's back I gotta go bye." mumbled Riley as he hung up the phone just as Volkner walked in carrying a paper bag and two drink containers.

"Hey I didn't know what you wanted to drink so I got you Coke is that okay?" Volkner asked as she plopped on the couch next to Riley. She pulled out a 20 piece McNugget and a large fry, "Wanna watch some TV?"

"Sure, what do you wanna watch?"

Volkner shrugged, "I don't know. How about a movie?"

"Okay what movie?"

"I don't care you pick." She on the TV and flipped to a channel Riley wasn't familiar with called Movies OnDemand. Riley scrolled through the movies until he found a Harry Potter movie, "How bout this?"

"Sure." said Volkner. She looked calm on the outside, but on the inside she thought it was adorable that Riley liked Harry Potter. They watched the movie and then continued watching all the movies in the series. Riley found it amusing the way Volkner shouted at the TV when Snape killing Dumbledore (spoiler alert sorry).

Around 10, Volkner started to yawn, and without thinking, she let herself lean into Riley. He tensed up at first, then relaxed when he saw it was only Volkner. He couldn't believe she was tired already.

A few minutes later, Volkner was asleep. For some reason she couldn't seem to stay awake. Riley just let Volkner sleep on him, since there was no reason to wake her up after all. She snored a little, which normally annoyed the hell out of Riley, but for some odd reason he didn't mind.


	9. Chapter 9

Flint woke up early the next day. Any other day he would've woken up around 11 ish, but today he had something to tell Volkner. He walked downstairs to see Aaron still passed out on the couch, so he quietly tiptoed past him and took a local ferry boat to Sunyshore. It was surprisingly quiet, with only a few shopkeepers up. He jogged to Volkner's house and used his spare key to open the door. "Morning Volkner!" he yelled, "You'll never guess what happened yesterday!" Flint walked over to the couch, where he saw Volkner's blonde hair poking out, not waiting for Volkner's response, "We were playing truth or dare and Cynthia dared Lucian to cross dress and go to the stor-OH MY GOD!"

Flint jumped back in surprise and pointing at the couch. He had gotten used to seeing Volkner passed out on the couch since she normally passed out while watching TV, or when she drank more, she was often too drunk to make it to her room, but he never expected to see a GUY with her. Somehow Volkner was still sleeping soundly but Flint could see the guy tossing and turning.

He leaned closer and noticed the guy Volkner was sleeping on was the guy from Candice's party- Ryan he thought it was. He walked to the front of the couch and gently shook Volkner to wake her up, "Volkner," he whispered softly, not wanting to wake up the stranger Volkner was cuddling on, but she wouldn't wake up,"VOLKNER!"

Volkner slowly opened her eyes. Her vision wasn't focused yet but she could make out Flint's Afro, "F-Flint? What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I was here to tell you about Lucian cross dressing last night and I tried texting you but you wouldn't answer, so I decided to pay you a little visit."

Volkner's eyed widened, "Lucian cross dressed?!" she asked, making Riley's eyes flutter open. He sat up to see the guy with the red Afro that was at Candice's party.

"Who the hell is that?!" he asked Volkner.

"I could ask the same for you!" said Flint.

Volkner smiled as she sat up, "Riley, this is my best friend Flint. Flint, this is Riley."

Riley held out his hand to Flint, "Nice to meet you." he said casually.

Flint shook Riley's hand not making eye contact, but instead he glanced at Volkner, then at Riley, then back to Volkner, a mischievous look in his eyes, "So, Volkner," Flint said slowly, "Did you two have fun last night?" It took Volkner a moment to figure out what he was talking about, then she glared at Flint darkly.

Riley was absolutely clueless, "What?" he asked. Flint smirked at them.

"You know what I'm talking about," he said.

"Quite honestly, I don't have a clue."

"Quit being dumb Flint," said Volkner, "We didn't do anything we just watched some TV that's all!"

Riley's eyed widened, "So THAT'S what he was suggesting!"

"Aw, c'mon, I saw you guys this morning, don't deny-"

Volkner punched him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Riley smiled brightly as he crouched down to get eye to eye with Flint, "I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?" he asked, a large smirk appearing on his face.

"Nothing!" Flint said, dropping to his knees. "Ow…"

"Riley, I think he's suffered enough for one day." said Volkner.

Riley shrugged, "By the way, were you planning on getting breakfast?"

Volkner shrugged her shoulders, "I never really thought about it," she said, "But if you want there's this restaurant that just opened here we can go to."

"Yeah that sounds good," said Riley.

"Aw, why can't I come? Or do you two-" Flint quickly cut himself off at the looks he was receiving and at his stomach, which was still very much in pain. "I'm just gonna go now. Text me later Volkner!" He quickly left the house, headed for the Elite four's castle.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: I used Google Translate for the foreign language and I am not sure if its correct of not so if you see any mistakes please let me know!  
_

Volkner needed a few minutes to get ready and so did Riley, so after about 15 minutes they were both ready to go, "C'mon, let's go." said Volkner as she finished putting on her shoes and walked out the door. Riley followed her out to see a silver motorcycle parked outside Volkner's house.

"Is that yours?" asked Riley.

"Yeah, but we don't need to ride it this place is only a few blocks away."

• • • • •

They arrived at the restaurant in about five minutes. Riley looked up at the sign, Café Fatum Est Hic Intendere, it read. Riley didn't speak whatever language that was in, so he had no idea what that meant, "Hey Volkner, what does 'fatum est hic intendere' mean?"

Volkner looked at the sign, "I have no fucking idea," she replied as she opened the door to the café. Riley followed her in. It really didn't seem like a bad place to eat. They sat down at a booth and a waitress soon came to take their order.

"What can I get you to drink?" she asked sweetly.

"Coffee," said Volkner.

"Same for me please." said Riley. The waitress left and Riley looked at the menu, "So do you ever eat at home or do you just eat out all the time?" he asked Volkner.

"Sometimes I eat at home." replied Volkner.

"What is there to eat? Chips and junk food?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's not healthy. How do you live on that stuff?"

"Easily, I'm still alive aren't I?"

Riley looked at Volkner. For eating as much shit as she does, she was surprisingly skinny, "Do you work out?" he asked.

"Yeah sometimes. I used to a lot more but lately I've been pretty busy so I haven't had time."

"Ah," said Riley.

"So, not to be rude," said Volkner, "But when are you gonna get back home?"

"I was planning on leaving tonight, but when I was getting ready I got a call from the contractor who's rebuilding my house saying that things were going slower then planned, so I guess I'm stuck here."

"Why's your house being rebuilt?" asked Volkner.

"You remember that really bad storm last week?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't?"

"Well my house isn't exactly 'storm proof' so it had a lot of damage taken to it, so I decided instead of just patching it up to just rebuild the whole thing."

The waitress returned with their drinks, "Are y'all ready?" she asked.

"Yeah I'll have the pancakes." said Volkner.

"Blueberry waffles please." said Riley.

The waitress left and Volkner turned back to Riley, "You know," she said, "If you want you can just crash at my place until your house gets fixed."

"Really?" Riley asked, seemingly surprised.

"Yeah. My house has an extra room and I'm sure I can just steal some clothes from Flint, or you can run home or wherever you're staying and grab your own clothes." she said.

"Wow, thanks." said Riley.

"Don't sweat it."

They had some small talk until the waitress returned with their food. Riley's eyes practically lit up as he immediatly dug into his waffles.

"Hypocrite." said Volkner. Riley looked up at Volkner, fork still in his mouth, "You probably eat just as much junk as I do the way you're going for that whipped cream."

Riley grinned and pointed his fork at Volkner, "Yes, I enjoy sweets, but I don't eat junk food every meal. This is what we call a balanced diet."

"I resent that," Volkner commented. "And I do eat fruit for your information."

"Fruit flavored alcohol doesn't count."


	11. Chapter 11

After breakfast, Volkner dropped Riley off at her house and walked to the gym. She said she wouldn't be back until around 8, so Riley was left with hours of free time and close to nothing to do.

Riley rode his Salamence back to Iron Island, where he grabbed some clothes and checked out of the little motel he was staying at, but as he arrived back in Sunyshore he realized he still had hours before Volkner came home. As he looked around at her messy house he decided to just tidy up the place. He also did her laundry, considering her clothes were laid out all over the floor.

When 8:00 finally came around, he heard the sound of keys jiggling a lock. Volkner walked in, along with Flint, to find Riley sitting on the couch. "What the hell is he still doing here?" asked Flint.

"His house is being rebuilt so I told him he could crash here for a few days, so get used to him." said Volkner, "Flint invited me to some get together he's having, wanna come?" she asked Riley.

Riley pretended to think about it, "Will there be alcohol?" he asked.

"I thought Candice said you didn't drink?" asked Flint, "But yeah, just for Volkner, there will be alcohol."

"I guess I'll come, there's nothing else to do." he said, following Flint and Volkner out the door. He was quiet as they to the port where their boat was waiting, watching Flint and Volkner curiously. Flint was doing the majority of the talking and was very energetic, while Volkner seemed kind of tired, probably having a long day at the gym, but she was still able to keep up with the conversation. In Rileys opinion, they acted a lot like brother and sister.

Thankfully the boat ride was quick, and Flint was only too happy to drag them into the castle. As fancy as it looked on the outside, the living room seemed very relaxed. Lucian was reading a book (big surprise there) and Aaron was playing some video game on the ridiculously huge plasma screen TV. Cynthia was talking with Bertha and a guy wearing an olive green wifebeater and army pants on the couch when they walked in, "Hey guys! I'm back!" shouted Flint, "Oh, this is Riley. He's crashing at Volkner's place for a while, so I decided to bring him with us." Riley awkwardly waved in greeting.

"Nice to meet you Riley," Cynthia said politely, "My names Cynthia." Riley nodded and smiled back.

"Hello dear! I'm Bertha." the older woman introduced herself.

"Aaron! Gah! Stupid fucking zombies! Die already!"

"Lucian." said Lucian, not glancing up from his book.

"And I'm FLINT!" Flint shouted. Volkner rolled her eyes.

"He already knows who you are dumbass."

"I know. Oh and this is Surge, he's visiting from Kanto on business." said Flint, motioning towards the man on the couch. He stood up and immediately walked up to Volkner, "So this is the little lady who's been dubbed 'The Unbeatable Gym Leader?" he said ask he shook her hand, practically crushing it under his massive strength, "I'm Lt. Surge, but you can call me Surge."

Volkner glared at him as she released her hand from his massive grasp, "Volkner, don't call me anything else." she said sternly, her face in a steely gaze that Riley hadn't seen in days. She had a feeling that Surge wasn't here on business and that Flint had something, scratch that, a LOT to do with it.

"Wow, you're a feisty one aren't you?!" asked Surge, resulting in another death glare from Volkner.

Riley, who was watching this scene unveil from the door, desperately wanted to go up to Surge and punch him in the face, but he knew that Surge would probably crush him like a grape. The dude was probably 300 lbs of solid muscle and he was about 2 feet taller then Riley, who was about 6 foot, so he decided to just stay where he was.

"Surge..." said Flint, giving a Surge a look. Surge backed off and sat down in a recliner. Volkner and Riley made their way to the other sofa and sat down, Volkner still glaring at Lt. Surge.


	12. Chapter 12

Volkner had once heard that Electric-type Trainers were the most arrogant, and she was starting to believe that was true considering how Surge was acting, "Want me to get you anything?" asked Riley, noticing that Volkner was still glaring, at what he had no clue.

"Can you get me out of here?" she asked.

"Trust me, I wish I could."

Volkner, shook her head. She was going to fucking kill Flint later.

"So, introductions everybody! Tell everyone a little about yourself," Flint said eagerly, walking back in with four bowls of different snack foods and plopping himself on a beanbag chair next to his date, "I'm Flint, the awesomest sexiest fire-type trainer EVER and a member of the Elite four! I'm from Jubilife City, I like battling and video games and other awesome stuff, and I'm awesome." Volkner snorted. If there was anything sexy about Flint he wouldn't be single.

"We don't need introductions Flint, we already know each other in case you've forgotten." said Cynthia.

"Well Surge doesn't." said Flint matter-of-factly. Cynthia just sighed and sank deeper into the couch.

"My name is Aaron, the Bug-type master of the Elite four. I love my beautiful bug Pokémon and annoying Lucian. It's funny."

"Everybody likes annoying Lucian," Cynthia said, seemingly irritated. She seemed to be having about as much fun as Volkner was.

"I'm Bertha," said Bertha sweetly, "I'm the Ground-type master of the Elite Four, but if you'll excuse me I think I'll just retire to my room for the night." She yawned and shook Surge's hand before exiting the room.

"I'm Lucian, the Psychic-type master of the Elite Four." said Lucian, not looking up from his book.

"Cynthia, I'm the Elite Four Champion, your turn Volkner."

"I'm Volkner. I'm from Sunyshore and I'm the gym leader here. Your turn Riley."

"Alright then. I'm Riley. I guess you could say I'm a Pokémon trainer. Lucario is my partner."

"I'm Lt. Surge, I'm the Electric-type gym leader from Kanto and-" his gaze focused on Volkner, "I have a thing for blondes." Volkner just looked at him with a disgusted face. She couldn't believe that Flint invited this pervert tonight.

After introductions were made, they all just talked amongst themselves. Riley got up for a moment to use the bathroom, and when he came back he found Surge in his seat, his arm around the back of the couch as he attempted to make a move on Volkner. Cynthia noticed Riley and gave him a sympathetic look, "Scoot over Lucian," she said. He did as he was told and Cynthia patted the empty seat, motioning for Riley to sit down.

Around 10, Flint started the movie. Of course it was a horror movie, so the girls would cling to their guys for protection, well except for Volkner of course, who seemed to be staying as far away from Surge as possible. Riley couldn't stand seeing Volkner so miserable. The whole time, he just wished the movie would end so they could go home.

• • • • •

About halfway through the movie, Volkner had enough of Surge, who had now wrapped his arm around her, "I have to use the bathroom," she said, making Surge move his arm. She got up and walked to the kitchen, noticing Riley watching her. The entire night he just looked miserable, but why Volkner had no idea.

Volkner walked to the kitchen and started rummaging though the cupboards until she found at least 5 bottles of vodka. Jackpot!, she thought as she grabbed one of the bottles. Her plan was to hide in the kitchen and get drunk and right now she didn't care what anyone said.

• • • • •

After the movie, Surge said goodbye to everyone and walked out the door. Riley turned to face Flint while Aaron and Lucian went to go tidy up the kitchen and Cynthia went to look for Volkner, who still hadn't returned from the bathroom, "Flint, what was all that about?" Riley asked, a little pissed at him.

"I told you, Surge was in town for business and I invited him over end of story." declared Flint. He then remembered noticing how miserable Riley looked all night and how he kept staring at Volkner. Flints eyes widened as his lips curled into a slight smile, finally getting why Riley was so riled up, "Oh, you like Volkner don't you?" Riley looked at the ground, his face turning red. Flint put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey man it's okay. Personally I think you're what Volkner needs."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Riley.

"It's just that, ever since Volkner met you she's been in a good mood. Earlier this year she was really depressed and she started drinking a lot. I usually had to drag her home from the bar about every night, but ever since this one trainer actually defea-"

Suddenly Lucian poked his head through the door to the kitchen, "Um guys, I hate to interrupt, but we have a problem here!"


	13. Chapter 13

Flint and Riley rushed to the kitchen to find Cynthia, Lucian, and Aaron surrounding a drunk Volkner, "God dammit how much did she drink?!" asked Flint. Cynthia held up an empty bottle of vodka and pointed to another half drank one that was in Volkner's grasp, "Fuck."

Riley quickly walked up to Volkner and snatched her bottle away. Volkner attempted to glare at him, but it had no effect, "Give it back," she mumbled drunkenly, making a pathetic attempt at grabbing the bottle from him. Riley put it on the counter behind him and turned back toward Volkner. She seemed to be lost in a world of her own.

"Volkner?" Volkner groaned and let herself fall on her side.

"Lemme 'lone."

"Here, let me help you," Riley said, reaching out towards her. Volkner batted his hand away, but Riley was having none of that. He scooped Volkner up despite her protests and walked back to the living room. By the time they got there, Volkner had quit struggling and settled for sulking.

"Flint?" Riley called. Flint was there in just a few seconds, Cynthia, Aaron, and Lucian rolling close behind.

"Dammit, how much did she have?" asked Lucian. Riley shrugged. Flint sighed, "Well, at least shes depressed drunk instead of crazy drunk right now."

"How often does she get drunk?" asked Riley.

"She hasn't in a while, but I guess she got fed up with that douche Flint set her up with." said Cynthia.

"Hey Surge isn't a douche!" protested Flint.

"Yeah he is don't deny it!"

"Is there anything I can do?" Riley asked, desperately wanting to help his friend. Flint shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't really think of anything at the moment."  
"Just lay her on the couch, you two can crash here if you want, I gotta get to bed." said Cynthia. She walked away, Aaron and Lucian followed in pursuit

Riley nodded and Flint left as well. He gently laid Volkner on the couch and sat next to her. Volkner was still lost in her depression, staring up at the ceiling. Riley brushed some stray hairs out of her face, "Varför gör du det här mot dig själv?" Riley asked softly. He spoke fluent Swedish and he often muttered it when he was upset without realizing it. Volkner looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"It's nothing." Riley sighed, realizing he spoke out. He looked at blank TV for a while. When he looked back down, he was startled to see tears crawling down Volkner's face. "Volkner?" He wiped the tears off and studied her face carefully. "Volkner? What's wrong?" Volkner shook her head and looked away. Riley gently turned her face back towards him, "Please Volkner, just tell me. If there's anything I can do…"

Volkner snorted. She rarely cried but her life was such a mess lately she couldn't hold it in, "Yeah right. There's nothing anyone can do."

"There's got to be something."

"I just want life to be interesting again. I'm just so...bored." She shifted a little and looked up at Riley. "Please don't leave."

Riley frowned and shook his head. He really really hated seeing Volkner like this, "Don't worry," he said, "I'm not going anywhere."


	14. Chapter 14

Volkner pushed herself up a little to make room for Riley, who moved to the cleared space. Volkner laid back down, resting her head in Riley's lap. Riley was a little surprised at first, but decided he was comfortable with this. Without thinking about it, he started playing with Volkner's long blonde hair.

"Hey. Riley?" Volkner asked a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"What language were you speaking in earlier?"

"Swedish, why?"

"I liked it," Volkner said, mustering a yawn and cuddling closer to Riley, "Can you say more words?"

"Like what?"

Volkner looked up at Riley, her eyes droopy, "I don't know just say something."

"Okay," said Riley. He thought for a moment, "Vill du åka hem snart eller bara krascha här?"

"What does that mean?" Volkner asked groggily.

"Do you want to head home soon or just crash here?"

"We can head home soon," said Volkner as she mustered out another yawn, "Tell me a story."

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter, I won't be able to understand it anyways." said Volkner.

Riley smiled and continued to play with Volkner's hair, "En gång i ett kungarike långt långt borta..." He told Volkner an old Swedish fairy tale about a princess who was forced to marry a man, but wasn't allowed to see his face. Volkner's eyes started to close and by the time he was finished, she was fast asleep. He picked her up bridal-style and carried all the way back to her house, where he laid her down on her bed and placed himself on the floor besides her, Luxray curled under him for support.

• • • • •

Volkner woke up the next morning with a massive headache, "Fuck how much did I drink last night?" Volkner she asked herself. She didn't have any real memory last of last night- all she could remember was going to the kitchen to avoid Lt. Asshole and Riley running his hands through her hair and talking in some language that she couldn't understand. It sounded damn sexy though. She ran her hand through her tangled hair and tried to ignore the massive migraine that was forming. Damn hangovers, she thought.

She got up and looked around at her surroundings. Somehow she was in her own bed but she had no idea how she got there. She swung her legs around only to hit something with her foot. She looked down to see that Riley was sleeping on the floor with Luxray sleeping on top of him. Volkner looked down at the duo. Riley must've brought me home, Volkner thought, "I need to take a fucking shower," she said to herself, so she got up out of bed and maneuvered around Riley and Luxray to the bathroom, where she took a few Tylenol before stripping down and hopping in the shower. For some reason, she had a nagging feeling that something wasn't exactly right, but she just ignored it.


	15. Chapter 15

The nagging feeling was still there when Volkner got out of the shower. She looked on the floor where she usually left her towels, but the floor was spotless. She looked around to only see a tiny dish towel hanging on a little towel rack. Volkner momentarily debated whether she should use that to cover her boobs or her other area, but then decided that she was just gonna fuck it and walk out naked. Seeing that she was extremely comfortable with her body she was fine with it, she just had to pray to god that Riley wasn't up yet.

Volkner stepped out of the bathroom to see that the house was spotless. No dirty clothes, no pizza boxes, no books or wires or tools laying all around her living room, even her cigarettes weren't in sight. "What the hell happened to my house?" Volkner asked herself.

She walked down the stairs and scoped out the area. There usually was some clean or at least clean-ish clothes lying around somewhere, but there were no clothes insight, "Well fuck." she said. Suddenly she came to the realization that Riley must've been the one to do this, considering he was home alone all day yesterday. I am going to fucking kill him, thought Volkner, "RILEY!"

• • • • •

Riley practically jumped at the sound of Volkner screaming his name. He scrambled down the stairs to see a seriously pissed off Volkner glaring at him with a look that, if looks could kill, he would be dead instantly, "Riley, what the fuck did you do with my clothes!?" asked Volkner. Riley just stared at her, still exhausted and trying to wake up. When he finally realized Volkner was completely naked he immediately used his hand to cover up her naked body from his view as his flushed a bright red.

"W-Why the hell are you naked!?"

"It's my house, I can walk around here naked if I feel like it." Riley's embarrassed blush grew a little deeper at that.

"Please just put some clothes on," Riley asked.

"I would if I fucking knew where the hell they were!" said Volkner, crossing her arms. Riley started muttering something in that weird language he was talking in yesterday, which only aggravated Volkner even more, "Clothes, Riley," Volkner reminded him impatiently.

"Oh, they're folded in the baskets in the laundry room. I would've put them away, but I didn't know if you wanted me in your room. Sorry about that," Riley apologized sheepishly.

"You did my laundry?" asked Volkner, her mouth gaping. Riley, however, wasn't listening, and instead darted upstairs, probably to take a shower. Volkner just stood there for a moment, then shook her head and went to go get her clothes on. After figuring out where her laundry room was and where these baskets were, Volkner changed into a black hoodie and some shorts, before walking out in the living room to see Riley arguing with his Lucario. She decided to just leave them alone, grabbed her keys and her bag, and rode to the gym.


	16. Chapter 16

For once Volkner was happy to be at the gym today. Considering the horrible night she had last night and the fact that she couldn't find her fucking clothes this morning, she was in serious need of some fresh air. Hell, even beating a shitty trainer would make her feel better, "Morning Volkner!" said Clyde.

"Morning Clyde!" said Volkner as she opened the door to the gym, immediately greeted by the sound of one of the Rockers wailing on his guitar, triggering Volkner's migraine, "Hey Brian!" she shouted to the Rocker, "Can you please quit playing until I leave the room?!"

Brian quit playing, knowing all too well what would happen if he didn't. Everyone in the gym could tell when Volkner was hungover by the way she made everyone quit playing their guitars, since usually she enjoyed the noise.

Volkner was about to open the door to her room when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see the Ace Trainer who had a crush on her, "Hi Zach," she said in a monotone voice.

"Uh hi Volkner. I-I, well I've really liked you for a while know, a-and I was wondering if you would wanna, um, go on a d-d-date with me?" he asked, his face turning red.

Volkner sighed. She knew today was the wrong day not to take the back entrance, "Listen Zach," she said, "You're really, well, nice I guess. But I'm not really looking for a relationship sorry."

Zach looked down, "I-It's okay," he said as he walked away.

Volkner sighed as she opened the door to the room. She pulled out a cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and decided to check her phone since she hadn't checked it in a few days. Three missed calls from Flint, one from Aaron, a text from her brother, and a text from Roark. She opened the text. It said that he was in Sunyshore on an errand for his dad and was stopping by for a visit. Volkner smiled, she loved it when Roark visited. They were still close and he could always put her in a good mood, which is something she needed definitely needed right now.

Suddenly she heard the door open and in walked Roark, "Hey Volkner!" said Roark, holding out his arms for a hug. Volkner wasn't usually a hugger, but considering her and Roark were extremely close, she was happy to oblige.

"Hey what brings you here?" she asked.

Roark pushed his maroon colored hair out of his eyes, "My dad heard that Riley was crashing at your place and since the recent well, um, incident my dad wanted me to come and check on him.  
"How the hell does your dad know Riley?!" asked Volkner, her eyes widening.

"My dad goes to Iron Island all the time for training and him and Riley are like best friends. Riley's actually my god father."

Volkner closed her eyes, "Fuck," she said softly. She really liked Riley, like a lot, but him being best friends with Byron could be trouble.

"What was that?" asked Roark.

Volkner opened her eyes, forgetting that Roark was still standing there, "Nothing, it's nothing." She took a drag on her cigarette and slowly exhaled.

"I thought you quit smoking?" asked Roark. He hated it when Volkner previously smoked whenever she visited his dad, but he overheard that she had recently quit.

"Eh, I stopped for a little while, but it was really hard."

"Oh, well if its okay with you I'm gonna go visit with Riley."

"Yeah that's fine, just if you catch him cleaning, tell him that I'm gonna rip his fucking head off." Volkner half-joked.

"Um, okay." said Roark, giving Volkner an odd look before walking away.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry that I haven't been uploading that much. I was going to try to upload 3 chapters a day but I never had the time and I was always behind so I just kinda gave up on that. Anyways, I'm really excited about this chapter and it turned out a million times better then I ever expected. It's honestly my favorite chapter out of this entire story and I really hope you enjoy it and pretty please give me some feedback because I really want to know what you think of my story and how I can improve them!

Roark walked to Volkner's house. He knocked on the door to be greeted by Riley, who was wearing a pair of jeans and a grey long sleeved shirt. Roark's eyes widened, having only ever seen his godfather in nice two-piece suits, complete with a blue hat, "Who are you and what the hell have you done to my godfather?!" he asked jokingly.

"Aw shut up!" said Riley, giving Roark a hug. He hadn't seen his godson in a while and he was amazed at how different he looked. His maroon hair had gotten longer- almost touching his shoulders, and he could see some muscle on him, along with some stubble. He must've inherited that gene from his dad where he never shaves, thought Riley.

Roark walked in and took a good look at Volkner's house. The last time he'd visited, her house was littered with pizza boxes, clothes, and tools scattered all around the house, but the house was spotless. The only exception was a puddle near the staircase, "So how long are you here for?" asked Riley.

"I'm heading back tonight. My dad just wanted me to make sure you were okay."

"Why didn't he come with?"

"Him and Volkner...well they don't have the greatest relationship in the world."

Riley wanted to ask why, but instead he decided to turn on the news, "Oh my god." said Roark. The Sunyshore city gym was being displayed. It looked normal enough, but there was a crowd forming outside it. Riley recognized some of trainers who hung around and challenged people who wanted to fight Volkner, her 'fan club' as she called it. A reporter was standing in front of the camera a microphone in his hand.

"The Sunyshore city gym is currently off-limits to all challengers! According to those at the scene, a fuse blew and set off a chain reaction, leading many of the motorized pathways to go haywire. This is the third such malfunction the gym has seen this month, with the primary cause thought to be the gym leader's incessant renovation of the gym." Riley's mind immediately turned to Volkner.

"Fuck, we gotta get down there!" said Riley, "Go back to Oreburgh, tell your dad I'm okay." he commanded Roark before running out the door.

• • • • •

Volkner was standing outside the gym, still shaking at what happened. She was bored and she had already beaten a few trainers, plus her head was still killing her, so she decided to do some minor renovations to the walkways. Fixing things had always made her feel better ever since she was a little girl and took apart and rebuilt her dads motorcycle. Little did she know that those 'minor renovations' would result in a malfunction that nearly blew up the whole gym. Thankfully everybody got out okay.

A nurse came up to Volkner, who was waiting impatiently, "Are you okay?" she asked.

Volkner just lost it. This was the third nurse that asked her that, and every time she said she was okay, "Yes I'm fucking fine! Go help somebody that actually needs help for gods sake!"

The nurse gave Volkner an odd look, then walked away to go help other patients. Volkner looked in the distance to see Riley running towards her, pushing through the crowd. He came up to her and immediately checked over her for any injuries, "Are you okay?!" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"It wasn't that bad just now. I had to make sure everyone got out of the gym so I kinda got stuck here when everything really started to go insane. It's just...this is all my fault!"

And with that she started to bawl. Hard. Volkner hadn't cried that hard in years, "I-I-I ju-just w-"

"There there, it's okay." said Riley. Without thinking, he pulled Volkner into a hug. She burrowed her head in his shoulder. Flint, who rode in on his Rapadash, couldn't have been any more shocked at what he was seeing. His best friend since practically birth, who he had only seen cry maybe twice, bawling into Riley's shoulder.

"Holy fuck is she okay?!" asked Flint as he jumped off his Rapadash and put it back in its Pokéball.

"Yeah she's fine," said Riley, still hugging Volkner. She pulled her head off of his shoulder and straightened up, wiping the tears along with runny eyeliner.

"I just need to go home." she said.

• • • • •

Riley walked Volkner home, while Flint headed back to the Elite Four's castle to let everyone know that Volkner was okay. Volkner was silent on the way home, but the minute they made it back she went to her fridge and pulled out 2 bottles of vodka, handed one to Riley, and immediately started chugging her own. Riley snatched the bottle from Volkner, "What the hell are you doing?!" he asked angrily.

Volkner tried to get her bottle back but Riley held it out of her reach, "I'm trying to get shit face wasted now give me my fucking bottle back!"

"No, I'm not gonna give you your fucking bottle back! I'm not going to watch you just drink away your problems whenever things get bad."

"It's my fucking life I can do whatever the hell I want! Its not like anyone cares about me. My mom, my own fucking mother who lives not even 10 minutes away from here, didn't even bother to text me when my fucking gym almost exploded!" shouted Volkner.

Riley couldn't handle seeing Volkner like this, "You have people who care about you! You have Flint and me...fuck ever since I first met you that one night I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. That rainy day I was outside your door? I was waiting out there for five minutes straight trying to muster up the courage to just knock on your door. That night we all hung out at Flint's? That night was horrible because I pretty much just watched as that pervert harassed you all night. I...I know this sounds crazy- scratch that insane, but every time I see you, you make me want to be a better person. Volkner, I...I think I'm in love with you."


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, I've had a serious case of writers block, but after a visit to the doctors and a prescription to scour the interwebs for inspiration, I present to you...CHAPTER 18!

• • • • •

Volkner stared at Riley wide-eyed, "Y-you...you're in love with me?" she asked softly. Riley came closer and put both of his hands on her shoulders, "Yes, I'm in love with you Volkner. These past few days have been some of the greatest days of my life because-" he put one hand on her cheek and pulled her in closer, "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met and I can't imagine not being with you."

Then he kissed her. It wasn't like what Volkner expected- it was soft and passionate and it was like there was no one else in the world but the two of them. He stopped after a few and looked at her, his onyx eyes staring deeply into her powder-blue ones, "Riley..." Volkner started but he put his finger over her lips, shushing her.

"Don't speak," he said softly, but before he could say anything else, Volkner's phone started to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and as she looked at the contact she smiled, tears forming in her eyes as she answered the call, "D-dad?" she asked, her voice shaking with joy. A pause. "Yeah Dad, I'm fine. It was just a minor malfunction it'll be fixed by tomorrow." Another pause. "Mhmm." Pause. "Yeah I'll be there." Pause. "I...I love you too."

Volkner hung up the phone and looked at Riley, "T-that was my dad," she said, tears rolling down her face, "He...he called to make sure I was okay."

Riley pulled Volkner into another hug as Flint barged in Volkner's house, along with Cynthia, Aaron, Bertha, and Lucian. He grinned as he saw what was going on, "So I see we have a little relationship blooming here." he said, a huge smile on his face. Volkner and Riley turned around and faced everyone.

"W-what are you all doing here?!" asked Volkner, her face turning red.

"We just came to make sure you were okay," said Bertha, "But we can always come back later."

"Yeah, later would be better." said Volkner. Bertha motioned for everyone to leave, but before Cynthia shut the door behind her, she gave Volkner the 'call me' signal. Volkner just smiled and as Cynthia left, she kissed Riley again, "You have no idea how much that means to me," said Volkner between breathes. She started moving backwards until her back was up against the counter, still kissing passionately. She arched her back as Riley pushed her against the counter harder, "Wanna move this party to the bedroom?" whispered Volkner seductively, gasping for air between kisses.

Riley stopped kissing and looked at Volkner wide-eyed, "Wait...what?" he asked, feeling his ears had misled him.

"You heard me." said Volkner as she started heading towards the stairs. Riley followed slowly as Volkner started walking up the stairs, pulling her hoodie off so only her bra was on, and tossing it down the stairs.

• • • • •

Riley pulled himself onto Volkner's bed. They just had sex, but not just any kind of sex, hot, dirty, passionate, mind blowing sex. Volkner was definitely no beginner, Riley thought.

Volkner crawled up besides him, her face dripping with sweat, "So what does this mean?" she asked, sitting up.

"I don't know...does this mean we're actually a couple now?" asked Riley. That's what he wanted anyways.

"I don't know, we're either a couple or this was a REALLY big mistake." Riley didn't like where this was going. Volkner paused and plopped down on her back, "Because I like the first scenario better."

Riley smiled and kissed Volkner again, "Trust me, so do I." She yawned and looked at the clock, which read 3:01 am, "I'm gonna get some sleep wake me up around 9 okay?" she asked as she snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.

• • • • •

Volkner woke up the next morning to the sound of an alarm going off. When did I get an alarm clock, she thought to herself. She sat up and looked around only to find an empty spot where Riley once was and a small black alarm clock, which she threw against the wall. She stood up and looked around for some clothes to wear, and once she noticed Riley's t-shirt on the ground, put it on.

She walked downstairs to find Riley, who was just wearing a pair of boxers, spooning mushy scrambled eggs onto two plates while his Lucario eyed them hungrily. It turned to look at Volkner with fierce eyes and growled slightly. Riley looked up and smiled, "I knew you never wake up early so I set you an alarm," he said, "Hope you don't mind."

"I don't thanks," said Volkner, eyeing the eggs hungrily, "I never knew you could cook."

"Yeah, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty damn good at it too." he said as he handed her the plate of eggs and motioned over to the dining table. Volkner was about to glance over at the clock when Riley spoke up, "It's only 9:15 don't worry, now sit down and eat the wonderful eggs your boyfriend made for you."

Boyfriend. As Volkner sat down she thought about it. Boyfriend. Volkner's boyfriend. Riley's girlfriend. It felt so weird to her that she actually was somebody's girlfriend. It'd been over a year since she went out with Byron, but their relationship felt like it was missing something, something Volkner hoped Riley could fill, "Wanna walk me to the gym today and make all my little fanboys jealous?" she asked between a mouthful of eggs.

"Sure, but I got a text from my contractor saying that my house is almost rebuilt so I'm gonna go check that out after okay?"

Volkner scarfed down the last of her eggs and pushed the plate away, "Yeah I don't care." she said as she got up and put the plate in the sink, "I'm gonna go take a shower, I smell like sex." She pulled off Riley's t-shirt and tossed it in his face, leaving her fully naked, and walked to the bathroom, "Don't follow me."


	19. Chapter 19

Riley watched as Volkner walked to the bathroom. He sighed and started loading the dishwasher. He liked Volkner, he really did and he was almost sure she was 'the one' for him, but even though he knew Volkner didn't know this, he knew about her and Byron's past relationship and he was worried that their relationship would affect his friendship with Byron. He decided not to fret over it too much, if Byron was really his friend then he should be okay with this. It's not like it was even serious yet! Sure he told Volkner he loved her but that wasn't a big deal right? Right?! He sighed as he turned on the dishwasher and went upstairs to get ready.

• • • • •

Volkner got out of the shower and thankfully she actually had a towel waiting for her. Not like it would really matter anyways, she thought as she wrapped the towel around herself. She walked up the stairs and as she opened the door she found Riley butt naked, "O-oh my god sorry!" she said as she quickly shut the door and ran downstairs. Fuck that could've gone better, she thought. Then, as she remembered she actually had a laundry room with clean clothes, she facepalmed herself, "Why am I so stupid?!"

She dug through the laundry basket until she found the outfit she was looking for- a black v-neck tank top, her favorite pair of skinny jeans, and a blue jacket. She looped a silver chain through one of the belt loops as she always did and went back to the bathroom to fix her hair and do her makeup.

After she was ready she walked out of the bathroom to see Riley waiting for her. He was wearing black dress pants and a blue suit jacket over a black dress shirt, his fedora tipped over his left eye, "Why, don't you look nice today!" said Volkner.

"I look nice everyday don't I?!" asked Riley. He sounded worried, but in reality he didn't really care. Volkner walked over to the front door where she laced up her combat boots, "Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah let's go." said Riley.

• • • • •

Volkner and Riley left the house and started walking to the gym. It was as if the city was still sleeping, nobody was outside except for a few shopkeepers. Riley knew he was really going to miss it here when his house was built. He'd grown accustomed to the town and the residents seemed to be familiar with him now- he could barely take a walk without being greeted by someone, "Hey Riley?" asked Volkner, looking off in the distance.

"Yeah?" asked Riley.

"When we get to the gym I really wanna put on a show for all my little fans- like holding hands and kissing and stuff, but in reality, I don't want to take this relationship too fast."

Riley blinked. He didn't really know what to say about that, considering they've already made it to home plate already, but he didn't want to ruin this before it even started, "Yeah I agree, let's just play it slow and take it from there...but can we still have sex?" Riley liked the sex.

Volkner just sighed and smiled, "Yeah, we can still have sex." she said. As she noticed the gym and the small crowd of trainers already crowded around it, she grabbed Riley's hand, "Alright, it's show time."


End file.
